The Congress party on Friday intensified its attack on the Akhilesh Yadav government on the day the CBI closed a six-year-old disproportionate assets case against the Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.

With the arrest of BJP MLA Suresh Rana for making “hate speeches” which led to the Muzaffarnagar riots, the saffron outfit is now expected to make a strong pitch to consolidate the Jat and Hindu votebank by playing its tried and tested Hindutva card.

Wales, it appears, is the flavour of the EPL. After the media frenzy that accompanied the metamorphosis of Gareth Bale into a galactico, another Welshman has become the talking point in England. Aaron Ramsey is the man of the moment for Arsenal.

The process of political realignment appears to have begun after the naming of Mr Narendra Modi as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. The Congress on Friday expressed confidence of the coming together of “like-minded” parties against communalism, saying it is the “biggest threat” to Indian democracy.

Days after the communal clashes in Uttar Pradesh claimed more than 40 lives, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Friday said every citizen of the country has the right to live with his or her individual faith.

India and the US are close to inking a preliminary contract in connection with the proposed construction of six nuclear reactors by an American company in Mithi Virdi in Gujarat.

The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Friday made an appeal to “prominent voices” on the social media, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, HRD minister Shashi Tharoor, Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, Bollywood actors and fellow party leaders to promote voter registration among youth.

The CBI officials said D.G. Vanzara’s questioning will help the agency gather “fresh leads” in the fake encounter cases, including the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case. Sources said the questioning of the 1987-batch IPS officer is expected to shed light on the role of the highest functionaries in the state government in the fake encounter cases being probed by the CBI.

The CBI on Friday closed the disproportionate assets case against Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, citing lack of evidence. The clean chit to Mr Yadav in the six-year-old case comes at a time when the SP government in Uttar Pradesh is facing severe criticism for failing to contain Muzaffarnagar riots.

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, who is also BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, will address rallies in Uttar Pradesh from October.